A/N: Hello there, readers! Thank you so much for checking out my story! I've had this fic idea floating around in my head for a little while now since finishing Stranger Things 2, and now I'm finally putting it into words. This is my first time writing fanfiction, so please feel free to let me know how I can do better, what you like or don't like, etc. Constructive criticism helps! Anyway, thank you again for giving this story a read! Hope you enjoy!

Daisy Henderson was forced to grow up a lot sooner than most other girls her age. At just seventeen, she was mature beyond her years. She'd spent most of her adolescence looking after her younger brother, Dustin, after their father walked out them. Their mother had always been a bit unreliable, and that was putting it nicely. It often felt as though they were in the care of a lackadaisical babysitter instead of an actual parent. So, Daisy took it upon herself to assume that responsibility.

She and Dustin were always close for brother and sister, especially considering their age difference. Although Daisy had never been one to be very interested in science fiction, or play Dungeons and Dragons, or really immerse herself such interests, she'd always find herself listening to Dustin go on and on about these things, and the games he'd play with his friends. It left a smile on her face to hear how enthusiastically he'd talk about those things. And it made her even happier that he actually wanted to include her in his interests. She too would let him in on the going-on's of her life, and she appreciated having someone to talk to about her days, even if he wasn't always one hundred percent interested in her stories.

Daisy had always been extremely protective over her brother. She knew the way other kids treated him, how they made fun of the way he talked or the fact that he still didn't have his adult teeth yet. Most of the time it was recollections of what the other kids had said that Dustin would tell her, but there had been quite a few times she'd actually reprimanded kids if she was in the presence of their taunting. It was something she would never let slide, if she could help it.

Up until this year, Daisy had attended a private high school in Hawkins. Unfortunately, her mother no longer had the money to afford the tuition, and so Daisy was forced to transfer to Hawkins High School this year. She hated that she couldn't just finish out her senior year at her old school with the friends she'd made over the years, but funds were limited and she knew she had no other choice.

It'd been a month now since the start of the school year, and Daisy still found it hard to adjust. All of her classmates had known each other for years, been through all of high school's ups and downs together, and she was realizing it was difficult to fit into these already solid groups of friends. She'd made a couple friends with some girls in her classes, but the relationships were very superficial. They'd gossip about boys and clothes and music, and Daisy would interject sometimes, but she really hadn't formed a true connection to anyone at the school so far.

However, there were just a couple people she'd known outside of school for a few years now; Jonathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler. They were really only acquainted with each other because their younger brothers were so close. Daisy had only ever met Nancy a handful of times, and the two of them never truly became friends. Even now, going to the same school, Daisy felt like she hardly knew Nancy. They'd pass each other in the halls and smile at one another, and that was about it. Jonathan was also a rather hard one for Daisy to get to know. He was usually very closed off, but sometimes they'd share the occasional small talk if they were both at the same place picking up their brothers.

She would never say that she was miserable at Hawkins, but Daisy sure felt like the odd girl out most of the time. She just had to keep reminding herself that it was just this one last school year to make it through, and she would be out of there.

Daisy sat cross-legged on her bed, her science text book open in front of her as she scribbled down notes on a piece of lined paper. There was a big test coming up and while she felt fairly prepared for it, there was nothing wrong with a little extra diligence. Besides, it wasn't like she had anything else to do that night. All of her "friends" were probably out with their significant others (or flavors of the week) and Daisy felt like studying was more appropriate on a Thursday night. She took her school work seriously, more so than a lot of the other kids at school, because she knew good grades were a big factor in getting into a good college.

With her bedroom door cracked slightly open, she could hear her brother's grumbles from the living room. "Shit… Shit! Shit!" Dustin could be heard from the other room, and Daisy only shook her head. "Son of a bitch!"

"Dusty… language." She heard her mother scold (or what was an attempt at scolding) with very little effort. With a sigh, Daisy stood from her bed and made her way into the living room to see what was going on.

"You almost hit Mews!" Her mother's voice became louder as Daisy entered the room, leaning against the threshold to watch the scene unfold in front of her.

"Can I please check under your cushion?" Dustin nearly begged, placing the couch cushion back where it belonged haphazardly. Her mother whined, and then Dustin whined, and Daisy fought hard not to roll her eyes. It was like watching two children arguing, and Daisy finally pinched the bridge of her nose, stepping forward.

"Dustin, I've got quarters in my room. But you have to pay me back this time, okay?" She spoke up, watching her younger brother's eyes light up as he stood from his spot on the floor in front of their mother's chair. She knew he and the boys scrounged up quarters every week to go play at the arcade, and every time, Dustin would rush around the house at the last minute trying to collect his "haul." The arcade was one of the newest, most popular spots for the kids and Dustin was very proud of being the top scorer on a majority of the games. He made sure to tell Daisy all about it every time he'd come home.

"Thank you, Daisy! You're the best! I promise this time, really." He nearly ran past her and into her room, pulling her purse off the night stand and grabbing as many quarters as he could hold. Daisy merely cast an amused smile as she watched, stopping him before he could rush back out of her room. Her face turned a bit more serious now.

"Hey, you call me if you need a ride home later, okay? Or ask Mrs. Byers for a ride back to her house and I'll pick you up there." She said sternly, only earning an exasperated huff from Dustin as he nodded his head. Deep down, she knew he appreciated her concern, though... or so she hoped.

"Yeah, I know, I know. I gotta go. See you later!" He waved after stuffing the quarters in the pocket of his sweatshirt, running out the front door without another word. Daisy shook her head once more as she returned to her bedroom, sitting back down on her bed.

Ever since last year, and what happened to Will Byers, Daisy always made sure Dustin always knew to call her for rides if he needed them. She knew he'd rather ride his bike, but she worried, especially at night. She tried to be the least over-bearing she could, but sometimes that proved difficult.

Daisy didn't know what happened to Will–the real story–until after it was all over. She had been just as oblivious as her mother and all the other parents (besides Joyce) to what was really going on at the time. But Dustin had told her about it – everything, down to the very last detail. He wasn't supposed to tell her, but there were no secrets between the two of them. For the most part, they told each other everything. And Daisy swore never to speak of it to anyone else, knowing the repercussions they'd both face if those men ever found out. So she pretended that all she knew was the same thing everyone else in town knew; that Will got lost in the woods for a week.

Daisy had given up on studying by the time Dustin returned home. The television in her room was playing on some random channel that she truly wasn't paying much attention to. When she heard Dustin walking past her bedroom, she called out to him, smiling when he poked his head in her doorway.

"How was the arcade?" She asked. Usually he'd barge right into her room and tell her all about it. Tonight, he just looked angry.

"You won't believe it. Some kid beat my score on Centipede and Dig Dug! I was number one on those for weeks. And of course, that weirdo Keith wouldn't tell us who the kid was. MadMax. What kind of name is MadMax anyway? Probably some nerd who doesn't want to use his real name so no one finds out who he is."

Daisy raised her eyebrows as Dustin reiterated the story at the speed of light. She frowned along with him as he told her, but then offered him a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, bud. Just keep at it, I'm sure you can beat this guy's score eventually." She suggested, but that did nothing to ease her brother's frustrations.

"Why don't you go on and get ready for bed, yeah? There's school tomorrow." She stood up from her bed and ushered him out of the room, watching as he mumbled under his breath something about this MadMax person, begrudgingly walking down the hallway and into his own room.

Daisy only laughed softly to herself, turning back around and closing her bedroom door. There was definitely never a dull moment with that kid. She crawled into bed after turning the light off, silently staring up at the dark ceiling for a few minutes. Convincing herself that tomorrow was going to be a good day at school was becoming somewhat of a nightly routine for her. She didn't hate Hawkins High School, but she most certainly missed her old friends. It would certainly make it easier to get through the rest of the school year if she had people she actually liked to hang around with.

Sighing, Daisy finally rolled over onto her side and made herself comfortable before closing her eyes, eager to get some much needed sleep.